Some Ancient Humans Migrated in Response to a Sudden Cooling Event
Some, but not all, ancient humans reacted to a cooling event by migrating
HENNING DALHOFF/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Roughly 4000 years after the last glacial period, hunter-gatherers faced another bout of sudden climate change that forced them to rapidly adapt to a much colder world.
While not as frigid or long-lasting as the final stages of the last glacial period, which ended about 11,700 years ago, the 8.2 ka cooling event still caused temperatures to plummet by as much as 6°C (10.8°F) within decades. At the same time, a land mass the size of Scotland broke away from the Norwegian continental…
